Parallel Love
by Naisa
Summary: Love can run in parallel lines, the same but never meeting. Neither of them know how the other feels, but even if they did, nothing could happen between them, how could it? Yet somehow they still live in hope that infinity may happen... Merlin/Morgana. Set during series 2, now re-edited and a three-shot!
1. Merlin

_This is a little Mergana two shot I wrote a couple of years ago, and just re-edited it! :) I hope it's ok, it's not the best thing I've written and romance is not my thing, so any constructive critcism will be much appreciated :) thanks!_

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Definitions of 'parallel':

- Lines side by side with a constant distance between them

- Situations that are very similar

- An exact likeness

Merlin

Merlin couldn't sleep; he lay there, staring at the dark ceiling. The pale moon filled his room with an eerie light. He tossed and turned, wondering why his mind felt so alert and why thoughts were racing through his head. Usually he was so exhausted he fell into bed and was asleep within minutes. Sometimes his worries kept him awake, but tonight it was something else, or rather, someone else. The same face kept on appearing in Merlin's head whenever he closed his eyes.

Finally accepting that he was never going to get to sleep, Merlin sat up with a sigh and gazed around his small room. Getting up as silently as possible so as not to wake the sleeping Gaius next door, Merlin sat on a chair by his bed, trying to think of something that would get him to sleep. He considered using magic, but decided against it, if something went wrong he could end up sleeping for a week, and would get nothing from it apart from an irritated Arthur and another lecture from Gaius.

Suddenly he remembered something that his mother had once told him. If something's troubling you, if something's on your mind, write it down. Sending the words from your mind on paper helps give you peace. Perhaps if Merlin did so, it would be enough to let him sleep.

Creeping around his chamber, Merlin looked for some ink and parchment he remembered carelessly discarding on the floor once, as he did with everything else. Finally he found a piece decent parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink that had thankfully not smashed. Merlin then sat back on his chair and drew his knees close to his chest so he had something to lean on. He decided that the middle of the night was not a good time to turn his bed or wardrobe into a temporary table. After a few moments of silence, where Merlin thought of how to form the words on the paper, he began to write.

The first time Merlin had set eyes on Morgana, he had felt his heart skip a beat. He knew it sounded childish, but it was true. The first time he had seen her beautiful face, soft dark hair, sparkling eyes and gorgeous smile, he wouldn't have been surprised if he had in fact died and was in heaven with an angel. Merlin tried to convince himself that he was just being stupid, surely every man felt like this when he saw a face like Morgana's, and someone like Morgana wouldn't glance at a manservant in the same way as he glanced at her. There was no good pining over her, he should just forget about her and move on, surely it was just a small crush?

After a few weeks Merlin found he was so busy doing chores for Gaius, working for Arthur, practising magic or using magic to save Camelot, that he did start to forget about Morgana. But despite this, every time he saw her face, he couldn't help smiling, and butterflies started fluttering in his stomach again.

Morgana was such a sweet girl, always caring for people, always friendly. While she suffered with nightmares during the night, she battled with Uther during the day. She seemed to be the only one other than Merlin who could see through Uther's mask, and that he was more of a tyrant than a King. Merlin admired her for that, but the last thing he wanted was to see Morgana get into trouble, and sometimes she had gone too far, she had even tried to help people to kill Uther.

The Dragon had warned Merlin about Morgana, about her destiny, about how she had magic powers and her dreams could tell the future. If only the Dragon knew how Merlin felt about Morgana. Now he realised that she was special like him, that she had magic powers, he felt closer to her. And over time not even risking his life for Camelot every day would stop him thinking about her when night fell. If the Dragon was right about her, Merlin knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it.

However nothing could happen, nothing would ever happen between them. Merlin was a servant; Morgana the King's ward. If he wasn't Arthur's manservant he doubted she would look at him twice.

Despite Merlin telling himself this, he couldn't shake off the feelings that he had for Morgana. The feeling that he would happily have his life taken away to save hers, to let him suffer from the nightmares so she could sleep in peace.

But that didn't change anything, Morgana didn't share the same feelings, why should she?

Sometimes Merlin felt like he couldn't bottle up his feelings about Morgana any more. He had to let it out; he had to tell someone how he felt about her, but who? He couldn't tell Gaius, he was like the father he never had, but he felt that love was something he could not confide with Gaius. He didn't even think about telling Arthur, who would either get angry or laugh it off, seeing it as some sort of joke. He could tell Gwen, Merlin trusted Gwen, he was close to Gwen, but Gwen was also close to Morgana. Despite the fact that he trusted Gwen she might feel that she had to tell Morgana, but he didn't want Morgana to find out. He didn't want to look any more like a fool than he already did at times.

In the end, it seemed the only thing Merlin could confide in was a piece of parchment, the one that he held in his hands. He watched the ink slowly dry on the parchment, the ink that had released all his emotions that he didn't even realise he had for Morgana, about how he felt when he saw her face, how he felt when he heard her laugh, how he realised he could tell no one else.

Before Merlin hid the parchment away so no one could find it, he wrote three last words at the bottom:

_I love her._

Letting out a deep sigh, Merlin hid the parchment under a loose floorboard with his magic book, and lay back in bed.

He couldn't tell her anything, about his feelings, about his magic. Nothing.

But perhaps one day, one day the time will come where he could tell Morgana everything.


	2. Morgana

Morgana

Morgana couldn't sleep. She lay there, gazing around her chambers full of riches that failed to fulfil her happiness. A single candle glimmered softly in the gloom on her bedside table. Morgana, almost knowing that she was not going to able to sleep that night, had asked Gwen not to blow it out, and now she was grateful for the small amount of light the candle gave her.

Morgana knew why she couldn't sleep; her mind refused to let her rest. Thoughts continued to race around her head. But tonight it was not the fear of nightmares that was keeping her awake, it was something else, something that did not plunge fear into her heart, but confusion. Or rather, someone.  
This was not the first time Morgana struggled to get to sleep because of this one person. It had happened once or twice before, but it never kept her awake for so long. Perhaps it was because now she knew why the person's face was appearing in her mind at night and making her mind race.

Sighing, and finally accepting that it would be a few more hours before she got to sleep, Morgana got up from her bed. She was careful not to make too much noise, she didn't want the guards to hear strange footsteps in the middle of the night from her chamber and grow suspicious; she didn't to be disturbed and she didn't want any trouble. Silently, Morgana walked over to her bedroom window and gazed out into the night sky, allowing the cool breeze to flow through the dark hair and giving her a beautiful view of Camelot sleeping. The night sky was dotted with twinkling stars and a silver moon that shone down on her. Breathing in the fresh air, and seeing the peace of the night, seemed to help Morgana think more clearly and make sense of her emotions.

When Morgana had first seen Merlin, she knew he was different, but she couldn't tell how exactly. Perhaps it was because he was brave enough to stand up to Arthur, maybe because he didn't act like a proper servant. Or maybe it was because Merlin was the nicest man she had ever met. And the nicest smile.  
Morgana got good company from Gwen, but she always felt closed off from Uther and often got irritated with Arthur. Without a great number of friends, and no proper mother or father, Morgana felt alone. But then Merlin came along, sweet and kind and caring Merlin, who was able to stand up for what he believed in and he too saw that perhaps magic wasn't as bad as what Uther always said.

At first, Morgana tried to convince herself that she was just being childish, acting like a fool. Merlin wasn't interested in her, he didn't see her like she saw him, what would everyone think if she said she had feelings for a servant, let alone if he had feelings in return? It would be best if she forgot about Merlin, and in fact for a few weeks Morgana was so busy battling her dreams and Uther she did, but every time she went into the Great Hall she would always glance around to see if Merlin was there, and always felt a pang of disappointment in her heart when he wasn't.

Always smiling with eyes more beautiful than the stars Morgana was staring at, she felt that she could trust Merlin, that she could confide in him if needs be, he would always look after everyone, and he would always be a comfort. Morgana often wished that she could spend more time with him. She felt so close to him, as if there was a connection between them, but she didn't know what. However still nothing could ever happen, she was the King's Ward and he was a servant, it would always be that way. She tried to shake off her feelings she had for Merlin, but it seemed impossible.

Sometimes, Morgana felt that she couldn't keep her feelings bottled up any more, she had to tell someone about how she felt about Merlin, but who? She couldn't tell Gwen, she may be the sister she never had, but for some reason Morgana felt she couldn't talk to Gwen about love. She didn't even think about telling Arthur, there was a one hundred per-cent chance of that failing horribly. She could tell Gaius, she trusted Gaius, she was close to him too, but Gaius was also close to Merlin. Despite the fact that she trusted her physician he might feel that he would have to tell Merlin how she felt, Gaius was a very honest person, but Morgana didn't want Merlin to find out, she wouldn't be able to stand the shame.

In the end, the only things Morgana could confide in were the stars that were gazing down on her. Their shining brightness seemed to release the strong feelings Morgana had for Merlin inside her that she didn't even realise. Yet nothing could ever happen between them. Morgana raised a hand and wrote three words into the sky between the stars with her finger:

I love him

Letting out a deep sigh, Morgana drew herself away from the window and the stars that hid her secret, and went back to bed.

She couldn't tell him, about how her dreams seemed to become reality, about the feelings she had for him. Nothing.

But perhaps one day, one day the time will come where she could tell Merlin everything.

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_Thanks for reading! Again reviews much appreciated :)_


	3. Lines Collide

_So I've a couple requests from people to extend this story, and afte a bit of thinking I've decided to make this into a three-shot! Despite me not being very good at writing romance, which is probably why this third part sounds so cheesy, but I hope you like it all the same :) this part is also quite AU _

_Please review :)_

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Lines Collide

Merlin yawned again, he was suffering badly from his sleepless night. He wasn't thinking about what the was doing, he just knew he had to go and clean the stables. The dreary Warlock was totally unaware that on the other side of the door he was about to enter someone else was yawning, suffering from a sleepless night and not thinking about what they were doing.

Not until her nose collided with the door, which Merlin had just opened.

"Ouch!" Morgana cried out involuntarily. Clutching her nose.

"Oh no," Merlin muttered, if there was anyone he had to attack with a door, fate decided it had to be her. "I'm so sorry!"

Seeing the astounded look on Merlin's face, Morgana couldn't help but laugh through the pain, "No, don't worry about it." She managed to say in a very muffled voice.

"I should take you to see Gaius," Merlin said hurriedly.

"Please Merlin, I don't want anyone to know I've just walked into a door," Morgana told him, her hand covering her nose as Merlin tried to look at it. She couldn't hide the drip of blood that fell onto the stone floor however.

Merlin pulled another face as if he had just killed her, "I should really get you down to Gaius!"

"No, no, it's fine," Morgana protested, but nothing she could say would make Merlin stop from grabbing her arm and dragging her down to Gaius' chamber.

Gaius wasn't there when they finally made it to his chambers, Morgana still protesting in her muffled voice, and Merlin ignoring every word. When he realised the chamber was empty he panicked a little, having no idea what he should do with a nosebleed, until he realised it probably wasn't _that _hard. He was just worried about whom he had given the nose bleed to.

He tried to stay calm and directed Morgana to sit down, while he went to look for something to help with her nose.

"This _really_ isn't necessary Merlin," Morgana assured him as Merlin sat down next to her with a cloth and a bowl of water, and tried to dab at her nose, which was proving rather difficult because her hand was still in the way.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, just please don't tell Uther I attacked his ward with a door," Merlin said, trying to peek around Morgana's hand to see the damage he had done.

"I won't," Morgana laughed. "But Merlin, you don't need to do this, I'm fine," she added, trying to duck out the way of Merlin's hand as he attempted to dab her nose with the cloth again.

Merlin actually looked a little hurt when she said this. He looked into her eyes. "Don't you trust me?" He asked.

The King's ward felt a pang in her heart when she saw the sad, worried look in his eyes. She thought about the words she had wrote between the stars. And she knew, of course she trusted Merlin.

Slowly, Morgana put her hand in her lap, revealing a bright pink nose.

Merlin looked at it carefully, gently dabbing the wet cloth on her nose, it was still bleeding, but it didn't seem too bad, and Merlin was pretty sure that it wasn't broken. "I think you'll be all right," he said. "Just tip your head back to help stop the bleeding...or should that be forward..."

Morgana couldn't help but laugh again, "I thought you said you knew what you were doing?"

"Didn't Arthur ever tell you I'm a bad liar?" Merlin grinned. He looked a little more worried when Morgana flinched suddenly, her laughter sending a wave of pain through her nose. "I hope I haven't done too much damage."

"I'm sure I'm fine Merlin," Morgana assured him, "it won't make much difference if I end up with a crooked nose anyway," she added before she really thought about what she was saying.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked, looking intently at Morgana, surprise on his face.

Morgana shifted uncomfortably, wishing she hadn't said anything. But she trusted Merlin. "Well it's just that I'm not that pretty anyway."

Merlin actually looked angry, "Who told you that?" He demanded.

The King's ward shrugged. "Well, no one, but..." she sighed, "I should have suitors by now, and Uther will want me to marry one day, but no one seems to be interested in me. I just thought perhaps it was because I'm not that pretty..."

"But I think you're beautiful." Merlin blurted out, and then his ears went pink. It was his turn to speak without thinking, but he knew it was true. "If Princes and Dukes of far off Kingdoms don't want you to be their wife, then that's their loss. There's nothing wrong with your face, they just don't want to marry someone who's independent and speaks her mind."

"Do...do you really think so?" Morgana asked slowly. No one had ever told her she looked beautiful before. And it was true that Uther got annoyed when she spoke her mind and her words were against his, she never really thought it was a good thing.

Now Merlin was the one who looked uncomfortable. He stared down at the ground, but then he looked back up into Morgana's eyes. "Yes, I really think that."

As if to return the favour, Morgana said, "And I really think you're the nicest person I've ever met."

There was a pause. The two realised they were both staring at each other, and quickly looked away. Both were thinking about what had kept them awake last night. Neither of them thought the next day they would find themselves with that one person they had been thinking about, alone, and able to tell them everything they had longed to. They were so close, but the words couldn't quite come.

Suddenly, Merlin cleared his throat, he stared intently down at the cloth in his hands. "I, I think it's stopped bleeding now."

These words made Morgana feel terribly sad, as she knew this meant their moment was over. "Oh...well, thank you Merlin. This was very sweet of you." She stood up slowly and made her way to the door.

But then something made Morgana stop. She could feel Merlin's eyes boring into her back. He didn't want her to leave, and she didn't want to leave either. How many times would they have this opportunity, to spend time alone together? Both of them had dreamed that one day they would be able to tell each other everything. Was this that one day? Could it really happen?

The servant and the King's ward. Never meant to be, and yet...

Suddenly, Morgana turned back. "Merlin, do you believe that if you put your mind to something, no matter how impossible it may seem, you can achieve it?"

Merlin hesitated, a small smile grew on his lips. "Yes, I think you can."

"Well in that case, this evening would you like to join me for a walk?" She blurted out quickly, before she changed her mind. She felt embarrassed now, worried about what he might think.

But Merlin broke into a full grin. "I know some excellent places where we can watch the sun set."

Morgana's grin matched his own at his response, "I look forward to it," she said, before she turned and left the chamber.

And all of a sudden the impossible had happened. Two parallel lines had met at infinity, and the day had come where Merlin and Morgana could tell each other everything.


End file.
